A band of committed environmentalists are fighting for the life of the old Mahogany tree on St Mark’s Road. Prem and a band of friends have fought vociferously for the Mahogany growing diagonally opposite the Koshy’s restaurant and have saved it from the axe of the BBMP. And on Independence Day, his group of friends did something, they hope to be very proud of — planted saplings generated from this Mahogany tree, so the legacy can continue.

“Justice M F Saldhana helped us finally save the tree. The Mahogany tree grows deep roots which do not disturb the buildings around it. This tree is a large leaved Mahogany which releases about 1400 litres  of oxygen per day from its trunk, while the branches and leaves add more. Free oxygen, free shade, free noise reduction, free dust removal, come with looking after this tree, or any tree,” says Prem. “Not a single branch has fallen on any passerby in all the years.”

Mode of propagation

What is interesting about the Mahogany is its mode of propagation. “The large seed pods that grow and ripen on the tree, burst with a bang, sending out seeds, that fly like the propeller blades of a helicopter,” explains Prem.

However since the seeds of the tree fall on barren ground, which is the tarred road below, they obviously cannot take root and grow. “I help the mamma tree by collecting the seeds and distributing them to plant lovers to grow and propagate more mahoganys across the globe. Otherwise they are just swept away into the garbage,” explains Prem.

“I have seeds taken to France, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and of course across India and it’s heartening to know that many of the seeds are growing into solid saplings.”  

Prem has a group of friends; Krishna MB, Sunil Kumar, Chandramouli TK, Prashanth Hebbar, Gautam P, Adarsh NC, Balraj KN and Jaychandran K who have got together and made posters to create awareness about the tree and how one can help the environment by doing something small in one own home. “The common bond uniting all of us across the world is this Mahogany mamma tree in Bangalore and the seedlings which have sprouted,” reveals Prem. 

Clement Silva of Koramangala, is famous for his collection of very rare and delightful Bonsai. “People give me seeds from all over the world and I have been able to grow them,” he says. “One Mahogany tree has sprouted from the seeds  given to me by Prem and at the moment I have pruned it back so that it grows a fresh crop of leaves.”      

Says Tuffy Taraporewalla, “I have this sapling given to me by Prem, which is almost eight feet tall and growing in a pot in my home. I hope to put it in the ground to help it grow into a large tree like the mother tree.”

“Simple awareness of the value of growing a tree, to save our environment, for the next generation, is what I am trying to do,” explains Prem.

“If you eat a plum or a litchie, or even a mango, stick the seed into a pot and see the plant grow from it. I plant seeds wherever and whenever I can. At any given time, I can give you guava, mango, jackfruit, peepul or mahogany seedlings, all growing in pots just outside my office.

“Our world is a ticking time bomb and you can already see the enormous climate changes taking place. How much longer can we just take and not give back to the earth? Every leaf and every tree is helping us to live. Anyone can get a mahogany seed from me and plant it and nurture the tree, like you do a child, and it will give back to you seven-fold,” he adds.

 You can reach Prem Koshy at Parade Café on St Mark’s Road for details on the mahogany seeds.